Fears of Christmas shopping chaos as staff at iconic department store threaten to strike
FEARS have been raised strikes at a major department store over the busy Christmas period could lead to shopper chaos.
Workers with the United Voices of the World (UVW) union have voted to strike on three days in the coming weeks.
Staff members from the retail, restaurant, kitchen and cleaning departments will walk out on December 21, 22 and 26.
They will strike from 8pm on December 20 to 9.30pm on December 22 and 12am to 9.30pm on December 26.
Harrods said around 176 workers have voted to strike.
UVW said its members will walk out if the department store continues to deny them a Christmas bonus and improved working conditions.
Alice Howick, Harrods waiter and UVW member, said: “Striking is a last resort for us and will only happen if Harrods continues to be unreasonable in responding to our demands.
“All we ask is that Harrods respects its employees and agrees to negotiate with us, as members of the UVW union, so a conclusion can be reached.”
The UVW union is asking for workers to be given a £500 Christmas bonus, guaranteed annual pay increase above the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation and end to mandatory bank holiday work for cleaners.
It is also asking for an end to forcing part-time cleaners to work nine consecutive days and a daily meal allowance for restaurant and kitchen workers.
This is the second time Harrods’ workers have voted to strike this year and the UVW union’s fifth campaign at the department store.
Alice Howick added: “This is a momentous result and demonstrates just how ready we are to fight for what we deserve.
“The time has come for us, the workers, to put ourselves and our well-being first and push for more than the bare minimum.
“As one of the world’s leading luxury department stores, Harrods should be setting the standard for retail and hospitality workers.
“Instead, we are earning the living wage and denied basic benefits such as a food allowance and Christmas bonus.”
Harrods said it was engaging with part-time cleaners impacted by the nine-day shift working pattern and had presented a number of options “for their consideration”.
The department store said it awarded a 4% pay rise to staff this year as well as increasing the lowest rate of pay in London by 10% to £13.15.
It also highlighted that it would continue to “supplement” teams at peak times so colleagues “feel supported”.
A spokesperson added: “At Harrods we recognise the enormous contribution of our colleagues, particularly at busy trading periods such as Christmas.
“Those that have voted to strike, which amounts to 176 employees (approximately 10% of colleagues collectively in these specific affected areas), are a fractional minority of our workforce and we have contingency plans in place over the Christmas period to ensure our services are not disrupted by this planned action.
“We have ongoing, open communication directly with our colleagues and our recognised unions on pay and benefits.
“Most recently, we have been engaging with colleagues directly through Colleague Forums and have also held town halls on issues that we know are of importance to our colleagues.
“We are committed to working with our colleagues directly to address concerns, as we have been to date and continue our constructive relationship with our recognised unions on pay and benefits.
“UVW is not a recognised union by Harrods and therefore we do not engage with this organisation on our policies.”
History of Harrods
Harrods was opened by Charles Henry Harrod, an East End grocer and tea merchant, in 1834.
The store relocated to Knightsbridge in 1849, but was raised to the ground following a fire in 1883.
The store was rebuilt shortly after with the help of architect Charles William Stephens, into the design it is today.
Harrods became a public company in 1889 and by the 1970s a department store selling exotic pets.
In 1985, the store returned to private ownership, when Egypt-born Mohammed Al Fayed and his brother Ali bought House of Fraser, previous owners of the building, for £615million.
In recent months, the department store has been marred in controversy, following numerous allegations of sexual abuse by Mohammed Al Fayed.
The strike action from the UVW comes after fears were raised Christmas turkeys could be off the menu in the West Midlands after HGV drivers launched their own industrial action.
Roughly 40 drivers who are members of Unite said they could walk out after their employer, Culina, failed to offer them a pay rise this year.
The union warned that “residents in the West Midlands could see empty tables this Christmas” as a result of the industrial action.
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